Laboratory Aide/Phlebotomist – Laboratory

About the Role

Powell Valley Healthcare is seeking a Medical Laboratory Aide to join our team in Powell, Wyoming. This part-time position (25 hours per week) involves obtaining blood, urine, and other biological specimens and performing various chemical, microbiological, immunohematological, and bacteriological tests on these specimens to obtain data for use in diagnosis and treatment of disease. The role includes phlebotomy skills, specimen procurement and processing, support for clinical testing, order processing, report distribution, and client services.

Responsibilities

• Obtains, or aids in obtaining, specimens for laboratory analysis, including blood, urine, and other body fluids and tissues according to providers' orders and the established procedures of the laboratory.
• Obtains blood specimens by capillary puncture, venipuncture, on patients of varying age ranges, including infant (birth to one year), child (one to ten years), adolescent (ten to eighteen years), adult (eighteen to sixty-five years), and geriatric (greater than sixty-five years).
• Performs various clerical duties required to collect and process specimens and assures that appropriate test results are communicated to the appropriate persons.
• Ensures that providers' orders are processed accurately and thoroughly by reading and verifying, investigating test requirements, collecting patient information, computer order entry, and distributing lab reports accordingly.
• Processes reference laboratory specimens to include specimen log-in, packaging for transport, completing all requisitions, verifying billing information, receiving and distributing reports and maintaining logs.
• Processes specimens including assisting with maintenance and Quality control, microbiology set-ups and plating, and performs CLIA waived tests under supervision when needed.
• Uses and operates such equipment as blood drawing equipment, centrifuges, computers and drying ovens.
• Aids in maintaining adequate inventories of all laboratory supplies.
• Maintain, collect and distribute records for equipment used in the laboratory as well as patient results and logs.
• Assists in training and orienting new laboratory personnel.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent is required.
• Knowledge of medical terminology is helpful and preferred.

Skills

• Read and interpret a variety of policy and procedure manuals, requisitions, and test results written in English.
• Write legibly in order to report test results and other information accurately and effectively.
• Speak and write effectively in order to communicate quickly with co-workers in the hospital in a variety of situations.
• Speak and communicate politely and maintain good customer (patient) relations.
• Maintain patient confidentiality at all times.
• Learn and apply electronic medical applications.

Physical Demands

• Sighted persons with near and far range acuity and good accommodation in order to use equipment in the laboratory, to draw blood specimens from patients, to examine relations involving end-points requiring visual interpretation, to accurately describe objects, to find their way about the hospital, and to read and interpret a variety of written materials.
• Good depth perception is required in order to accurately and quickly manipulate a variety of pieces of laboratory equipment and materials in a safe and efficient manner.
• Accurate color vision is required in order to be able to interpret a variety of reactions that have established colored end-points.
• Hear a variety of sound signals that are used to time tests and operate equipment.
• Be able to provide care according to the developmental level and or chronological age of a patient served.
• Identify the needs and abilities of each patient, and demonstrate an understanding of how a patient's chronological and developmental age influences his/her need for adaptations related to his/her abilities.
• May be subject to exposure to toxic chemicals, biological agents, blood, body fluids and radiation materials.
• Standing and walking to a significant degree: light work.
• Be able to reach, handle, finger, and feel in order to operate equipment and manipulate utensils quickly and accurately.
• Significant exposure to various hazardous and/or toxic materials, including blood and other body fluids, acids, bases, and carcinogens; there is incidental exposure to formalin.
• There is significant exposure to mechanical hazards when dealing with various pieces of laboratory equipment.
• May be requested to work weekends, holidays and overtime to meet the need of the department.

Benefits

• Health, dental and vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Long term disability coverage
• PTO – New employees accrue the equivalent of up to twenty days of PTO within their first calendar year
• EIB (Extended Illness Bank) – Our version of accrued sick leave
• Nine paid holidays which includes two personal holidays
• Tuition Savings Plan
• Opportunities to cash out PTO for personal use, student loan payments, and in-house medical bills
• Tuition reimbursement – up to $5,000 per year
• Fun to be Fit program and Club Dauntless Membership Discount
• HRA – Flex spending accounts